chicago dentist

Nowadays, dental clinics and dentists chicago are completely different from what they were a few years ago. The presence of large chains, insurance companies and the interest of banks and venture capital funds in these clinic models, have dynamited the traditional model with aggressive advertising and methods that are increasingly being implemented in the rest of the more traditional clinics.

In this scenario we find patients, friends and relatives who ask us "why is this so and not my lifelong dentist" "what makes franchises, chains and insurance companies different from the rest of the clinics".

In this post we will give some advice to identify a good professional, from others who work with purely commercial objectives:

1.- Always use the same professional team. Dentistry is a very specialized field and not all of us are going to carry out all types of treatments, but the fact that the team is stable and that treatments are referred to specialists from other centres is an indication that the main concern is the patient's health. Be wary if the centre you go to has a very high turnover of staff or does not treat the person you want.

2.- Comprehensive treatment plans. A good professional will inform you of the general state of your mouth (gums, teeth, the way you bite and the short and long term repercussions that the possible problems you have will have on your oral and perioral health). To do this, it is necessary that the first visit is exhaustive. Be wary when a first visit is short and the dentist gives you a quick check-up, when the treatment plan is based on "filling gaps" or when more importance is given to expensive treatments (implants, whitening, etc) than to the health situation.

3.- Dentists love their teeth. If you ask a good dentist in which situation a tooth would be removed he will tell you that when there is no other choice because the rest has failed. Demand the same for you. Removing a tooth is the last step and constitutes a mutilation if there is any possibility of maintaining the natural dentition. Be wary when a treatment plan includes multiple extractions or when the practitioner tells you that an implant is preferable to a natural tooth.

4.- The need for continuous training. Identifying a professional who is adequately trained is not looking at the wall to see if they have many diplomas, there are many indications to know: the way to understand your oral health, the way to explain the treatment or the way to work are just some of the indicators. Words like bonding, all-ceramics, onlays, inlays, veneers, invisible orthodontics, guided surgery, digital planning, intraoral scanning, etc... will be part of your everyday vocabulary. Silver amalgams, crowns with metal bases, metal pins, etc... will only be used to indicate that they want to disappear from your mouth.

5.- The use of technology. The use of magnification with magnifying glasses or microscopes, a camera to record the work, the use of digital radiology, the use of an intraoral scanner, the systematic use of isolation with a rubber dam, or the planning of 3D surgeries, will indicate that you are a trained, up-to-date professional, and that you care more about performing work properly than about the time and money invested in training yourself to use this technology and implement it in daily practice.

These tips do not ensure the complete success of a treatment or the total absence of complications, but they do ensure that you will find a professional with a vocation and dedicated to the quality of his work and the well-being of his patients.